We are not even at the end of January yet but our mailbox is already coming apart at the seams, filled with new, fascinating music. We have received so many requests for review that our schedule is nearly filled up to March. Among the regular submissions, there is always a song or two that are absolutely perfect and we are trying to introduce those artists in the first instance.
If you haven’t heard about The Feral Five yet – here’s your chance to catch up. The south east duo is back with their new single “Truth Is the New Gold” and this is a serious contender for the single of the year. There is no exaggeration here, the pair has long been praised for their eclectic sound, immaculate production and songwriting skills. They have been compared to Moloko, Danger and New Order with flair for new technology and voice programming.
The Feral Five by Feral Five
Bio: Feral Five make electronica with attitude, sonic elixir for our dystopian C21st. The duo consisting of Kat Five and Drew Five, are based in London and Kent. With Kat majoring on vocals/guitar and Drew on bass and beats, they also play synths and percussion, regularly swapping instruments and finding new ones – everything from algorithms to crystals can be used to make music. Both produce, write and mix at Feral HQ. Their future-facing tunes were played multiple times on BBC 6 Music (Chris Hawkins, Steve Lamacq and Gideon Cole), on Radio X (John Kennedy’s X-Posure and Eddy Temple-Morris on The Remix), BBC1 and others. Their song “Kiss” was BBC 6 Music Recommends’ Track of the Week and “Get A Grip” was voted a Fresh Fave at Tom Robinson’s Fresh On The Net show. The Ferals glide seamlessly between dance music, experimental electronica, and cinematic landscapes, fusing snarling guitars, sparkling synths, and ferocious beats.
My first thought after listening to “Truth Is the New Gold” was that the song would be perfect for a soundtrack to a sci-fi tv series like Altered Carbon or Cyber Punk EdgeRunners based on an incredibly popular video game by CD Project Red. The track has a distinctive cinematic feel, pulsing rhythm like a beating heart of a futuristic city. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but when I close my eyes, I see neon-soaked streets, glass high-rising buildings, a metropolis equally inhabited by people and machines. The song is fast, it could fit an action scene of some kind: an espionage act, a speeder chase or even a search for something or somebody.
The Feral Five by Keira-Anee Photography
The electronic beat – vibrant and electrifying is contrasted with buzzing guitar riffs, mechanical drumming, droning synths and calm, melodic voice of Kat Five. Kat sounds like Debbie Harry of Blondie or Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl from the distant future. Sweet, angelic yet cold and distant. You start to wonder, is this a real person singing, or maybe we are listening to an android? The perfect copy of a human being that has all the looks and abilities we possess yet none of our feelings and emotions.
It is a fascinating track, nearly 4 minutes long and when it ends, it’s like you have seen an episode of a really cool TV series and you crave more. It’s a good thing that the band is releasing a full album in February, cause I’m dying to find out what is going to happen next. If we are lucky, maybe the album turns out to be a space opera concept album or the songs will be linked in some other way. There are so many questions. What does the title mean? Why is the truth the new gold? What is coming between the lyrical subject (the singer) and the recipient of the message (the song itself)? How much does the other person know and what do they know? The lyrics are as masterful as the music itself.
I absolutely love tracks that are hard to classify. “Truth Is The New Gold” is a cross between techno, experimental dance music, space rock, ambient and avantgarde pop. It’s sample heavy and uses Synthetic AI voice instrument designed by Birds on Mars/Sol & Krach.ai. Think Blondie meets David Bowie x Daft Punk x Kavinsky x New Order. I don’t remember receiving that kind of combo to review before.
Single Cover
I’m a big fan of cyberpunk genre (“Akira”, “Ghost In The Shell”) and a big fan of The Feral Five as of now as well. When the album lands (or crashes somewhere in the Area 51), we will be there to review it.
A bit of a sad note at the end – the band has just over 1k followers on Facebook and not much more on other social media channels. If there would be any justice in this world, they should have at least 1 million. Please support acts that are struggling to cut through the noise made by industry plants/rich kids with guitars/brainless pulp suggested by Spotify. We can’t lose those artists. They are the real creators, they are the true artists. Buy directly from them, go to their gigs, like their posts on socials, spread the word. With BBC Introducing under threat, it is getting harder and harder to perform, record and tour. When people like Feral Five are gone from our indie scenes, we will be worse off. So treasure them while they are still here and if you know A&R looking for a new experimental act to sign, tell them about this band. They should be huge, and somehow, they are not. This needs to change and pronto.
Follow the band online at:
https://feralfive.com
https://feralfive.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/feralfive
https://twitter.com/FeralFive
http://www.facebook.com/feralfive
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6lFO7Wz038KeAcIodpRHcU
https://www.youtube.com/user/feralfive
https://www.tiktok.com/@feral_five
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 